Adverse Health Outcomes after Hurricane Katrina among Children and Adolescents with Chronic Conditions

Abstract

Children with chronic conditions may be at risk of increased disruptions in health care following natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate differences between children and adolescents with and without chronic conditions immediately following Katrina. Of 531 participants, there were 79.8% younger than 13 years old, 50.5% male, 42.8% African American. Participants with pre-existing conditions (39.4% of the total sample) were more likely than those without to be at the clinic for a non-chronic health condition rather than another problem (43.5 vs. 16.2%), to take asthma medication (37.4 vs. 3.9%), to have asthma worsen (16.3 vs. 1.9%), to miss a visit (49.2 vs. 39.8%), to run out of medications (33.9 vs. 7.9%), to live with flood damage (19.7 vs. 11.3%) or mold (23.6 vs. 15.8%), and to experience disruption in care (58.4 vs. 38.3%) or negative psychological consequences (ranging from 2.5% to 12.9%). While the medical differences are unsurprising, given the groups being compared, the other differences between the groups merit attention from policymakers and health care providers. Children and adolescents with chronic conditions are at increased risk of adverse outcomes following a natural disaster. Providers may be able to reduce negative effects on this population by developing condition-specific preparedness care mechanisms.

No Calm After the Storm: A Systematic Review of Human Health Following Flood and Storm Disasters

“…79 In the one to three months after a hurricane, children with chronic conditions were more likely to have worsened asthma (16.3% versus 1.9%; P < .01) than children without chronic conditions. 113 However, no significant relationship was seen between exposure to mold and respiratory allergic response in patients at an allergy clinic in the year after a hurricane. 114 The remaining studies on NCDs and chronic illnesses saw significantly less height gained in the three months following a hurricane in nutritionally at-risk children under five years old 115 and a significant increase in the stunting/underweight one year after.…”

Disparity in disaster preparedness among rheumatoid arthritis patients with various general health, functional, and disability conditions

“…Recent natural disasters have had a disproportionate negative effect on the medically vulnerable segment of the general population, including those with chronic diseases and physical disabilities [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Since both the number of people in these subgroups and the risk of natural disasters are increasing [7,8], the disaster preparedness of medically vulnerable populations must be addressed.…”

Preparing Families of Children With Special Health Care Needs for Disasters: An Education Intervention

“…Children may be separated from caregivers who can provide information and critical support, confounding already stressful situations. Preexisting or special health care needs often result in an increase in physiological and psychological symptoms, as well as disruption in the continuity of medical care (Rath et al, 2007;Markenson, Reynolds, & Committee, 2006). Risks for physical, developmental and behavioral conditions are amplified and require a higher level of care than typical children post-disaster (American College of Emergency Physicians, 2008;McPherson et al, 1998).…”